Mistaken Bravery
by meledy54
Summary: Alice has only ever had one friend, caring and loyal Angy. When they both get acceptance letters to Hogwarts it seems like a miracle, as if the universe decided they shouldn't ever be separated. Then Angy somehow gets Slytherin, and shy Alice mysteriously gets Gryffindor. Now Alice must prove that she's not Gryffindor, but that might be harder than it seems.
1. Better Together

People surrounded me. They pressed against the sides of my body. There was nowhere to run. No way to leave. "Angy!" I cried. I needed to find her, I needed to go with her to the great hall. I needed someone by my side who I wouldn't feel uncomfortable with. Just like she was there when we both received our letters to Hogwarts. It was unbelievable, both of us had gone to school together since we were in third grade, and somehow we were both witches. Her mom called it fate, mine called it God being his good self.

And yes, my family is Christian and let me go to a magic school. My parents wanted me to be with Angy, since she was the only kid I was comfortable around.

"Alice! Alice!" Angy must not be able to find me. I leaned forward and waved, she somehow squeezed right by my side. I heard some kids talking about what house they would be in, and how they hoped to get Gryffindor just like Harry Potter, whoever that was. One girl retorted that she should be in Ravenclaw, since she was as smart as can be. The boy next to her said she would probably get Slytherin, since she was so stuck-up and mean. "What are they talking about?" I whispered to Angy. "The houses your sorted into, each one represents something, and everyone hates Slytherin. I heard that their evil, the lot of them." She answered. Angy, unlike me, had lived in England her whole life, but I clung to my American accent and slang. Suddenly I saw an stern, elderly woman enter the hallway we were in. She stared to give a speech, welcoming us and talking about a great ceremony. She left after, and then a pale, shining figure emerged from the wall followed by many others. "Ghosts!" Angy gasped. Other said the same thing. I took a moment to take it all in, and slightly heard what the ghosts were saying. I wasn't paying attention.

The elderly woman, who called herself Professor McGongall, escorted us in. I gulped, then I saw the crowded long tables and the stool at the front that held a dusty old hat. The Sorting Ceremony was about to start.


	2. Sorting Away

All of the first years were rounded up into a sloppy line by the hat. Several people gasped when the hat started to move, and it started to sing.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, But don't judge on what you see, I'll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat than me. You can keep your bowlers black, your top hats sleek and tall, for I'm the Hogwarts sorting hat and I can cap them all. Theres nothing hidden in your head the sorting hat cant see, so try me on and I will tell you where you ought to be. You might belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart, thier daring, nerve, and chivalry set Gryffindors apart; you might belong in Hufflepuff, where they are just and loyal, those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraidbof toil; or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind, where those of wit and learning, will always find their kind; or perhaps in Slytherin you'll make your real friends, those cunning filk use any means to achieve their ends. So put me on! Don't be afraid! And don't get in a flap! You're in great hands (though I have none) for I am a thinking cap!"

Everyone applauded. I saw Angy bouncing on her heels in excitement. "I hope I get Ravenclaw! What about you?" She whispered. "Anything but Slytherin, I don't want to be known as cunning." I replied. I felt like I was falling apart, like a switch inside me set my stomach to puree. Professor McGonall took out a scroll "When I call your name you will put on the hat, and sit in the stool to be sorted." She said. "Allin, Conrad!" She called. A brown hear bobbed up to the stool, but I couldn't see past the people in front of me. "Slytherin!" The hat called. Cheering came from a table on the far left. "Boot, Niomie!" Was called next, and became a Gryffindor. The table in the middle cheered this time. "Boxton, Angy!" Angy strode up to the hat. She sat for a few moments before the hat called out her house. "Slytherin!" It called. I stood there in shock, unable to hear the cheers from the next table. Slytherin? There was no way. I must have heard wrong. I leaned over to a blonde, suspicious looking boy next to me "Did the hat just say Slytherin?" I asked. He nodded. The cheering sounded a million miles away.

I hardly registered when several minuets later, my name was called.


	3. Mistaken Sorting

"Oak, Alice!" Professor McGongall called. A kid with dark hair and green eyes elbowed me. It registered to me that my name had been called. I crept over to the stool and timidly took the hat. "Slytherin?" The hat questioned. "My best friend is there." I whispered in response. "But you could do great things in Gryffindor, or make friends in Hufflepuff." It said. "I've never been a brave person." I replied almost inaudibly. I thought about it, in Gryffindor people were brave, and maybe it would rub off on me. Maybe it was my house, but the hat also said I could be a Hufflepuff. Was I just and loyal enough for it? "I want to be where I belong." I whispered to the hat. "Well then, Gryffindor it is!" It said. Cheers erupted from a table, and I walked towards the questioning faces that matched mine.

"Potter, Albus!" Was next, I recognized him as the boy who had elbowed me. The hat took a moment before it shouted out "Hufflepuff!"


	4. Wisdom from Lovegood

There was a huge feast after the Choosing Ceremony. The tables were covered in turkey, chicken, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and even lasagna! When everyone was too full to move, the Prefects showed us to our dorms. "Be careful about the stairwells, they change." Then she pointed to a stairwell to the right. Sure enough, it moved and reconnected with another stairwell.

When we stopped we were in front of a portrait of a woman who looked bloated. The Prefect, her name was Amelie Longbottom, said "Owl tail." After the portrait asked for the code. The portrait swung open. "If you have a bad memory, write the code down on your forearm. Or, you can wait outside until someone comes along. Whichever you prefer." She said. Everyone awkwardly walked in. We were shown to our rooms, which had four poster beds with curtains. There was about ten crammed into the room, one for each girl.

"I heard the hat. You wanted to be in Slytherin." A girl with blue pigtails said. I looked up, and she was looking at me. She was talking to me. How was I supposed to respond? Was she going to yell at me? Interrogate me?

I twirled the bracelet around my wrist, Angy had an identical one. "My best friend went there, I wanted to be with her." I answered. "And you aren't Hufflepuff because...?" She cocked her head and did a small half smile. "I guess the hat was wrong, or it thought I somehow fit in Gryffindor." I replied. "The Prefects' dad was a Gryffindor, but he had a special bravery that no one else had. My mom was friends with him. Her name was Luna Lovegood." The girl smiled. Even her voice smiled. Its like this girl was all smiles and nothing else. She skipped off to her bed.

I wasn't brave. I couldn't even talk to people. I could hardly keep myself together in a huge crowd. I was as far off from brave as you could get, and somehow that idiot hat had decided that I was.

It was wrong, and I had to prove it.


	5. Rose and Quiddich

The next day at breakfast we got our schedules. Owls also dropped letters off with other students. The tables were covered in normal breakfast foods, oatmeal, toast, sausage. When I saw my schedule I noticed that I had Potion Making with the Hufflepuff's. There were no classes with the Slytherins. Would we ever have a class with them, or would I be doomed to only see Angy while going to my next class.

The girl with the blue pigtails leaned over to talk to me. It was then that I noticed she was right next to me. "I wish I could say that I know what it feels like to be separated from someone you love. But I can't. Though, I might know later. My sister is coming next year, and I think she would be more Ravenclaw than anything." She smiled. All she ever did was smile. I'm sure that if she went to her mothers funeral she would be smiling.

Could she be a serial killer in disguise? Like in Sherlock, and she was Moriarty? Then who was Sherlock? Would I be Molly? Anderson?

"I'm Rose. Rose Longbottom. You're Alice, right? Oh, my sister is the Prefect, incase you were wondering. Who was your friend that went to Slytherin?" Her eyes looked curious and trustworthy, but her face still smiled. "Her name was Angy." I whispered. I wish she would leave me alone. I didn't want to talk to anyone, and talking to her made me nervous. It made me uncomftorable. "Were you both born in the wizard world?" She looked as if it was a stupid question, like we had to be from the wizard world. "No." I didn't want to tell her much, I felt as if she wanted to gain something from me that wasn't friendship.

"Thats weird." She was still smiling. Maybe I was too curious myself. "What do you mean weird?" I hoped I didn't sound offended. "Well, you are both from the muggle world, yet you still met each other, became best friends, and were both accepted into Hogwarts." She looked like she was concentrating on saying the right words, like she didn't know what to say or was trying not to say something.

Angy had read all the books on the wizard world. She had told me the different phrases that wizards use, and that a derogatory term for us would be 'Mudblood'.

"Fate wanted you two together." Rose smiled again. She wasn't trying to choose her words anymore. "I describe it more as God wanting us together." I replied. Rose looked confused, and went back to her food. I guess she was finished talking too.

After breakfast me and the other Gryffindor first years had herbology. Next was transfiguration. Then, there was potion making. I had picked the spot farthest in the back, were it was shadowed slightly more than the rest of the room. It was unrealistic, I admit, but so is a school for witches and wizards.

My partner had ended up being one of the leftovers who didn't pick a seat fast enough. He was the boy who had elbowed me. "Albus, right?" I asked when he sat down next to me. He nodded then pulled out his potions book. He never asked my name, so I didn't give it.

The teacher was a happy-go-lucky young woman who had an encouraging quote in the corner of the board. Across the middle she wrote 'Angel'. "I'm Professor Angel." She said. Her voice was high and happy. "Okay, so open your books to page ten, we will be doing a cure for boils potion today." She smiled more than Rose, which seemed impossible.

Albus read the instructions to me and handed me the ingredients. Professor Angel came by and told us we were doing perfectly. I noticed that Rose and her partner, one of the Gryffindor boys, kept messing up.

Potions was not Rose's strong point.

On the other hand, it seemed to be what I could do. Me and Albus worked well together, we both knew what we had to do and did it.

After Potion Making we had a class on flying brooms with Hufflepuff. Another elderly woman was teaching the class. "Say up to make your broom go to your hand. Be clear and demanding." She directed. Every student started saying up, I noticed that Rose's broom flew up into her hand after a few tries. It took me ten times before the broom flew into my hand. It hit hard, but not hard enough to hurt for more than a second.

After about five minuets the last person had their broom in their hand, he was a nerdy looking Gryffindor. The Professor instructed us on how to fly. Everyone jumped onto their brooms, a few kids fell off but most could hover in place.

Rose and me were the only Gryffindors who could fly above twenty feet. Albus and two other Hufflepuff girls could fly along with us. "Everyone land!" The professor called. She hadn't told us how to land yet. Most of the kids looked confused. A few that were hovering lowered. I thought of the witches I had seen in movies and how they landed.

I did what they did. I pointed my broom down slightly and straightened it once my feet brushed the ground.

"Come with me. Alice?" The professor walked forward. I nodded. "Stay on the ground, no flying!" She told the class.

She led me down winding halls to the potions class. "Professor Angel, could I barrow Elizabeth for a moment?" She asked. Professor Angel gestured for Elizabeth to leave.

Elizabeth was a tough looking girl. What I could see of her arms was pure muscle, her face was thin, and her blonde hair was cut short. Because of her hair, she either looked like the prettiest boy to live or an average girl with achne. "I know you had your heart set on Potter, but I think that Alice can be your seeker." The professor smiled. She looked as i she was trying to convince a communist leader to turn their country into a democracy.

"She can try out after school today, if she passes she will be the seeker." Elizabeth sighed.

I could be a seeker, whatever that was. If Elizabeth was stubborn about it it had to be important. Or she was stubborn.


End file.
